Tuesday, 7 June 2011

Another astronomical discovery

Congratulations to Dr Daniel Bayliss for the discovery of planet WASP-17b, a planet that travels in the opposite direction to the spin of the star it orbits. This is the first planet discovered that exhibits this behaviour, and bucks the established theory that planets are formed from the same rotating material that form stars, and therefore should rotate in the same direction.

Apart from being an astronomer Daniel was a foundation member of the Australian National University Chess Club, although his academic career has taken precedence in recent years.